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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: capital · staff · ball · vault · kid · pitch

  1. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  2. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  7. The King held a masked ________________.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  11. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  17. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. ball — a round shape
  3. capital — money
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. ball — a great time
  7. ball — a dance
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. staff — a stick
  11. vault — a safe
  12. kid — to tease
  13. kid — child
  14. staff — employees
  15. capital — a city
  16. vault — in gymnastics
  17. vault — an arched ceiling
  18. pitch — completely

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com